Apparatus for radially winding flexible tubular material

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for winding a flexible thin-walled tubular material, radially of itself into a plurality of overlapping reverse pleats for storage and subsequent unwinding or feeding comprises: a hollow guide member and means for supporting the guide member for rotary movement, a support member, and means for supporting the member for rotary movement, a supporting means permitting longitudinal movement of at least one of the members relative to the other, means for rotating the guide member and support member in opposite directions, and means for moving either the support member or guide member or both longitudinally and reciprocally whereby the support member is reciprocated into and out of the guide member. When flexible tubular material is passed over the guide member and secured to the support member, the rotary and reciprocal movements of the members are effective to cause the tubular material fed thereover to be wound in a plurality of overlapping reverse pleats.

I United States Patent McNeill June 28, 1974 APPARATUS FOR RADIALLY WINDING FLEXIBLE TUBULAR MATERIAL [75] Inventor: Frank M. McNeil], Danville, Ill.

[73] Assignee: Tee-Pak, Inc., Chicago, Ill.

[22] Filed: Apr. 2, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 347,292

[52] US. Cl. 242/55, 17/49 [51] Int. Cl B65h 17/02 [58] Field of Search 242/55, 67.1 R, 67.2, 67.3

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,526,022 l0/l950 Gerstein 242/672 X 2,534,0l5 l2/l950 Gerstein 242/672 Primary Examiner--.lohn W. Huckert Assistant Examiner-Edward J. McCarthy Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Russell L. Brewer; Neal J. Mosely l [57] ABSTRACT An apparatus for winding a flexible thin-walled tubular material, radially of itself into a plurality of overlapping reverse pleats for storage and subsequent unwinding or feeding comprises: a hollow guide member and means for supporting the guide member for rotary movement, a support member, and means for supporting the member for rotary movement, a supporting means permitting longitudinal movement of at least one of the members relative to the other, means for rotating the guide member and support member in opposite directions, and means for moving either the support member or guide member or both longitudinally and reciprocally whereby the support member is reciprocated into and out of the guide member. When flexible tubular material is passed over the guide member and secured to the support member, the rotary and reciprocal movements of the members are effective to cause the tubular material fed thereover to be wound in a plurality of overlapping reverse pleats.

10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures COMPRESSED Williams M SHEET 2 BF 3 FLUID PRESSURE COMPRESSED AIR FIGZ

1 APPARATUS FOR RADIALLY WINDING FLEXIBLE TUBULAR MATERIAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to apparatus for winding of flexible tubular material in a manner which permits the tubular material to be removed from its support and simultaneously filled continuously for packaging and other purposes.

2. Description of the Prior Art Flexible tubular material, such as tubular films, foils, webs (including paper, fabrics, netsand the like), to be used in packaging, have in the past either been rpovided in the form of short pieces which can be easily opened and filled as packages or wound as flattened tubes as suitable spools or cores for storage. When tubular material has been provided in the form of a flattened tube, wound on a spool or core, it has been used by unwinding from the core and opening and filling in discrete segments. There has been no practical way to fill a tubular material which is wound on a support other than by puncturing and rescaling.

In the meat packing industry, artificial sausage casings, which are a specialized type of tubular material, are shirred (pleated) from lengths ranging from 40 160 feet or more down to a shirred and compressed length of the order of a few inches. The shirred or pleated form of the casing is filled by placing on a stuffing horn and a meat emulsion extruded to fill the casing to its fully extended length. Apparatus for shirring casings (which could also be used for shirring other tubular materials) is shown in Dietrich US. Pat. No. 2,010,626, Korsgaard U.S. Pat. No. 2,583,654, Blizzard, et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,722,714, 2,722,715, 2,723,201, Gimble U.S. Pat. No. 2,819,488, and Matecki US. Pat. Nos. 2,983,949, and 2,984,574. Shirring processes, as carried out by the above-mentioned patents, are generally limited to the shirring of relatively small diameter flexible tubing and are not generally applicable to the shirring of paper, webs, nets, or foils. In general, the prior art does not teach any method of winding, compacting or storing tubular material which permits continuous filling of the tubular material other than the processes and apparatus for shirring artificial casings as illustrated by the patents listed above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to apparatus for winding tubular products such as tubular films or casings, tubular netting, tubular fabric, tubular paper, or tubular metal foil. Broadly, the apparatus comprises a hollow guide member having an end for continuously receiving the tubular material to be wound and having a surface permitting the material to be drawn thereover. A support member is provided on which the tubular material is secured and wound and is supportably mounted for rotary movement. A support means permits longitudinal movement of the hollow guide member, the support member, or both relative to the other. Means is provided for rotating the guide member and the support member in opposite directions, and another means for moving either the guide member or support member or both longitudinally and reciprocally whereby the sup port member is relatively reciprocated into and out of the guide member. The simultaneous rotary and reciprocal movement of the guide member and support member, optionally coupled with a feeding mechanism for the tubular material, is effective to cause the tubular material, when secured to the support member, to be wound thereon in a plurality of overlapping reverse pleats.

THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an embodiment of the apparatus having a vertical shaft and feed mechanism.

FIG. 2 is a cross section of the apparatus FIG. 1 along the plane 22.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the hollow guide member along the plane 3-3.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional 'view of the hollow guide member and supporting member when the support member is positioned inside the guide member.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the frontal portion of the apparatus along the plane 5-5.

FIG. 6 is a side view of tubular material wound on a supporting core by this apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown an isometric view of a vertical shaft radial winding machine. Of course, the alignment in the vertical direction is not mandatory as other alignments are effective for radial winding.

The radial winding apparatus is supportably mounted upon a base which comprises a pair of channel irons 4 and 5 disposed apart from each other and resting on their sides. Disposed between the channel irons 4 and 5 is a support 6 for vertical housing; 7. Support 6 is a flat plate mounted horizontally and rigidly coupled to the channels 4 and 5 at the edge.

Vertical housing 7 extends upward from the support and comprises a deep, U-shaped, channel iron providing a housing for the parts effecting relative reciprocal movement of the winding members and support for these members. Disposed along the edge of each leg of the vertical housing 7 are vertical guide rods 8 and 9 which provide support and guidance for movement of a winding member, e.g., support member. The guide rods are cylindrical in shape and are approximately 94 inch in diameter.

Positioned horizontally at the top of vertical housing 7 and extending outwardly from the U section of the vertical housing is a support housing 11 for a guide member to be described to be employed in effecting winding of tubular material. In the instant apparatus, guide member support housing 11 is rigid. However, it can be mounted for movement, particularly when reciprocal movement of the guide member which it rotatably supports is desired.

The guide member support housing 11, in addition to extending horizontally outward from the top of vertical housing 7 for supporting the guide member, projects in an opposite direction for support of motor 29. The motor 29 through a series of belt drives, shown in FIG. 2, effects reciprocation and rotation of the winding members. Switch 30 is mounted adjacent to the motor housing as this provides a convenient location for manipulation of the machine.

Extending outwardly and horizontally from vertical housing 7 and immediately below the guide member support housing 11 is support member mounting 14.

This mounting is 'U-shaped having glide sleeves 15 and 16 disposed longitudinally at the end of the legs thereof. The guide sleeves 15 and 16 surround guide rods 8 and 9, respectively, for providing support and for effecting longitudinal movement of a support member employed in winding.

Disposed vertically downward from the guide mem ber support housing 11 is a small hollow shaft 12 of about Vz 1 inch in diameter which supports a guide member 21. The shaft 12 is rotatably supported in the guide member housing 11 and provides the mechanism for supporting a guide member 21 for the radially winding apparatus. The shaft 12 preferably is hollow for introduction of compressed gas from compressed air source 31 for inflation of the tubular material to be wound.

Extending vertically downward from the support member mounting 14 and surrounding the shaft 12 is support member 17. This member is cylindrical in shape and hollow. It normally has a diameter of from inch to 1% inches. The support member 17 may have a smooth surface so that tubular film can be wound thereon and easily removed. Alternatively, in lieu of winding directly onto the support member 17, a hollow core 42 (see FIG. 6 for detail) is placed over the support member and the core secured for winding of film thereon. Support member 17 has a tubing 17a wound helically thereon which is inflated to secure hollow core 42 in place during the winding operation.

Disposed immediately below the support member 17 is hollow guide member 21. Its longitudinal axis normally is vertical and concentric with respect to the axis of the support member 17 and shaft 12. The guide member 21 typically is a cylindrical tube of about 2 3 feet in length and having a diameter slightly less than the diameter of the tubular film which is to be wound. Typically, the diameter of the hollow guide member 21 is from about inches although larger diameters can be employed where desired. The surface of the guide member 21 is smooth to permit easy passage of the tubular material being wound. As will be explained later, the purpose of the guide member is to direct movement of the tubular material onto the support member during winding.

The mechanism by which the guide member 21 is supported by the shaft 12 is illustrated in FIG. 3. A guide member support plate 28 is welded across the bottom of guide member 21 and shaft 12 welded to the support plate 28. The hollow shaft 12 usually extends slightly through the guide member support plate so that compressed air or other gas can be fed through the shaft and around the outer surface of guide member 21 for inflating tubular material being fed there.

Tubular film stock 23 (or other tubular material) is provided on reel 23a on a support 22 which is positioned vertically from channel iron 5 and secured in place for feeding to the winding members of the apparatus. Guide rollers 24, 24a, and 25 are supported horizontally between the base channels 4 and 5. These guide rollers guide the tubular film 23 from the reel 23a between the base channel irons 4 and 5 to pinch rolls 26 and 27. The pinch rolls 26 and 27 are supported horizontally between the channels 4 and 5 and align with the guide member 21; 26 and 27 are driven by motor 29 or an independent power source, if desired, for feeding of the tubular stock material 23 at a predetermined speed to the guide member 21.

Structural apparatus for effecting reciprocation of the support member relative to the guide member include piston 37 positioned longitudinally of the U- shaped vertical housing 7. Piston 37 is anchored at the bottom to support plate 6 and'at the top to the guide member support 11. Pressure cylinder 38 embraces the piston for slidable movement along its surface. A source of fluid pressure 39 (pneumatic or hydraulic) is connected by conduit 39a to the pressure cylinder 38 to effect movement of the cylinder along the piston surface. Suitable limit switches may be placed along the surface of the vertical housing 7 to limit movement of the pressure cylinder 38 and the support member mounting 14 as the cylinder travels upwardly or downwardly along the piston surface. The support member mounting 14 resting on the guide rods 8 and 9 is attached to the pressure cylinder 38 and is moved upwardly or downwardly with movement of the pressure cylinder. A cross sectional view of the apparatus and its connection is shown in FIG. 5.

The guide member support housing 11, as mentioned, provides housing for the support and drive means for the guide member 21. Disposed in the housing is a belt drive assembly 13 for the guide member 21. This drive assembly comprises a chuck 34 for rotatably supporting the shaft 12 and a pulley 13d resting on the chuck 34 which can be driven by a belt. The belt is in communication with pulleys 13a and 13b which is driven by pulley 13c on the motor shaft.

As stated before, the support member 17 on which the tubular material 23 is wound is rotatably supported in the support member housing 14. The support member 17 is held in place by chuck 33 and is operatively connected to drive assembly 18 which effects rotation by means of drive 29a from the motor 29 shown schematically as a dotted line. This drive causes rotation of the support member 17 in a direction opposite that of the guide member 21.

OPERATION The operation of the winding machine can best be understood by examination of the drawings. A tubular film stock 23 is fed from the reel 23 underneath the guide rolls 24, 24a, and 25 to a pair of pinch rolls 26 and 27 which are driven by a motor 29 or other suitable driving means. The tubular material 23 then is drawn over the surface of the guide member 21 and is securely fastened to the support member 17. The guide and support member constitutes the winding members of the apparatus. More preferably, a tubular core 42 is positioned over the support member shaft and securely held by means of an inflatable binding 17a which then is inflated. Air is introduced from compressed air source 31 into the hollow shaft 12 which flows out the bottom of the shaft and around the guide member support plate 28 and guide member 21. Introduction of air causes inflation of the tubular material which is desired in order to reduce the frictional forces of the tubular material as it is drawn over the surface of the guide member.

With the apparatus activated, the support member 17 is rotated in one direction and the guide member 21 is rotated in the other at substantially the same linear surface speed. This rotation in opposite directions mitigates twisting of the tubular material 23 on the guide member and twisting at the pinch rolls during winding. The rotation of the support member 17 coupled with 5, the rotation of pinch rolls 26 and 27 draws the tubular feed stock 23 over the guide member surface 21 for feeding to and winding of the tubular material on the support member 17 or core 42.

In preferred operation, a simultaneous reciprocation of the support member 17 into and out of the guide member 21 is accomplished during the rotation of the support member and guide member. The reciprocation of the support member 17 relative to the guide member 21 and counter rotation of the support and guide members causes the tubular material 23 to be wound back and forth on core 42 (or member 17) in a plurality of twisted pleated layers.

In FIG. 2 the support member 17 is shown in its top position just outside the guide member 21. In FIG. 4, support member 17 is in its bottom position inside the guide member 21. As can be seen from FIG. 4, the tubular material is wound uniformly over the surface of the support member 17 which extends into the guide member 21.

Winding of the tubular material is continued until the diameter of the wound tubular material over the core 42 or support member 17 approximates the inside diameter of the guide member 21. At this point, winding of the tubular material is terminated and the wound tubular film material cut and removed. The wound tubular material then can be removed from the support member by releasing the core 42 from the support member 17. Then, coupling 32 on the shaft 12 is unfastened, the guide member 21 removed, and the wound tubular material 23 slipped off the support member 17 for storage.

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of the product radially wound as described above. The core 42 is shown having the tubular material 23 wound radially of itself in reverse twisted overlapping pleats 43 and 44.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for winding a flexible thin-walled tubular material radially of itself for storage and subsequent unwinding or feeding which comprises a. a hollow guide member,

b. means for supporting said guide member for rotary movement,

c. a support member,

d. means for supporting said support member for rotary movement,

e. at least one of said support means permitting longitudinal movement of one of said members relative to the other,

f. means for rotating said members in opposite directions, and

g. means for moving one of said members longitudinally and reciprocally whereby said support member is relatively reciprocated into and out of said guide member,

the rotary and reciprocal movement of said members being effective to cause tubular material fed over said guide member and secured to said support member to be wound thereon in a plurality of overlapping reverse pleats.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for supporting said guide member is a hollow shaft.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said supporting member is supported for reciprocal movement into and out of said guide member.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said support for said supporting member is a shaft.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said shaft surrounds and guides the hollow supporting shaft for said guide member.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said guide member supporting shaft includes a coupling permitting removal of said guide member from said shaft.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 which includes a compressed gas source connected to said hollow shaft for expanding said tubular material as it is fed over said guide member.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the shaft for said support means includes an expandable outer surface lining for securing said tubular material on a core on which said tubular material is wound.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said apparatus includes a means for continuously feeding said tubular material to said guide member as the material is wound on the support shaft.

lit). The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said means for continuously feeding said tubular material is a pair of rollers. 

1. An apparatus for winding a flexible thin-walled tubular material radially of itself for storage and subsequent unwinding or feeding which comprises a. a hollow guide member, b. means for supporting said guide member for rotary movement, c. a support member, d. means for supporting said support member for rotary movement, e. at least one of said support means permitting longitudinal movement of one of said members relative to the other, f. means for rotating said members in opposite directions, and g. means for moving one of said members longitudinally and reciprocally whereby said support member is relatively reciprocated into and out of said guide member, the rotary and reciprocal movement of said members being effective to cause tubular material fed over said guide member and secured to said support member to be wound thereon in a plurality of overlapping reverse pleats.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for supporting said guide member is a hollow shaft.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said supporting member is supported for reciprocal movement into and out of said guide member.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said support for said supporting member is a shaft.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said shaft surrounds and guides the hollow supporting shaft for said guide member.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said guide member supporting shaft includes a coupling permitting removal of said guide member from said shaft.
 7. The apparatus of claim 5 which includes a compressed gas source connected to said hollow shaft for expanding said tubular material as it is fed over said guide member.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the shaft for said support means includes an expandable outer surface lining for securing said tubular material on a core on which said tubular material is wound.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said apparatus includes a means for continuously feeding said tubular material to said guide member as the material is wound on the support shaft.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said means for continuously feeding said tubular material is a pair of rollers. 